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Posted By Jun - SuboxoneDoctor.com Team on 06/11/2018 in Opioid Treatment

New Health Care Laws: How Will They Affect Office-Based Treatment with Suboxone?

New Health Care Laws: How Will They Affect Office-Based Treatment with Suboxone?

Doctors and nurse practitioners who will be prescribing suboxone in their offices must follow a very specific set of guidelines in order to do so. These include the following:

 

Notification of Intent

Before a medical provider begins to prescribe suboxone, they must notify the federal government that they plan to do so. The paperwork that they file will inform the correct officials that they are participating in a suboxone treatment program and that they will be taking on patients for medically managed addiction treatment.

 

Complete DATA2000 Waiver

These providers will also need to complete a DATA2000 waiver. This paperwork requires that they have completed at least 8 hours of very specific drug treatment training and that they have the ability to refer individuals out to the correct type of psychosocial services as they complete their suboxone treatment. This may mean a halfway house or step down program, or it may mean a discharge to home and an outpatient treatment program. The type of discharge services that the individual receives will vary depending on their specific needs.

 

Complete Additional Confidentiality Steps

These medical providers will also need to work through additional confidentiality steps that are specific to the medical detox program that they are running from the office. For example, in order to disclose information that identifies the patient and that they are involved in medical drug treatment, signed consent is necessary. There are many medications that interact with suboxone, so it may be difficult for another doctor to prescribe medication without knowing that the patient is taking suboxone.

 

Prepare Office Staff

It's also important that the doctor take the time to prepare the staff that works in the suboxone treatment area of the practice so that they are familiar with the additional steps that will be required to legally handle suboxone treatment. Otherwise, it's possible that an untrained staff member could make a small mistake and cause a major issue within the office.

 

Patient Limits Per Doctor

In addition, federal law limits the number of patients that a suboxone doctor is allowed to have at one time. This means that any specific provider will likely need to have a waiting list to compensate for this regulation. As one suboxone patient finishes their medical treatment for addiction, another can be contacted from the waitlist and start treatment.

 

Design a Treatment and Discharge Plan

Another component of treatment from a suboxone doctor is that the provider takes the time to design and post-treatment discharge plan for each patient. This helps ensure that each suboxone patient is discharged from the program in a healthy manner, with the psychosocial treatment that they need to stay clean.

Individuals who need suboxone as part of a medically managed opioid detox program often find that if they work all the way through the steps of the program from beginning to end, they are able to stop using opioids and stay clean. If you or someone you love is in need of this type of therapy, contact [treatment center] today to learn more.